Lots of places claim to have the most beautiful scenery and the friendliest people in the world, but I think that Fiji might actually win on both counts! It’s hard to believe that a place this beautiful actually exists.

I am staying in a bure (bungalow) overlooking the sea on the south of the main island. The staff at my resort are incredibly friendly and have gone out of their way to be helpful. The only slightly strange thing is that I was, until today, the only guest here – which is fine in itself but created a slightly strange, overly protective dynamic with the staff! There’s a restaurant on site, which serves the usual fare for round here (lots of burgers, battered chicken, fries and some fresh seafood), and also a small pool. I found a large crab in the pool on my first day, to the great amusement of the staff. It’s now been removed and hopefully won’t appear on the specials menu in the restaurant!

Views from the resort

The beaches around here are incredibly beautiful but also interesting – not just white sand and blue sea. The island was created by volcanic activity and this can clearly be seen in the hard black rock on the beaches. There’s also a lot of soft coral near the shore, which is exposed at low tide. A couple of days ago, I walked about a mile along the beach and swam in a bay, in water as warm as a bath, with quite a few Fijian children. Pretty much every person I’ve met here has said “bula” (hello) to me, and I find myself saying hello back. It never feels intrusive or uncomfortable. The children in particular were keen to practise their English (which is actually spoken very well here, due to the country’s British colonial past) and were fascinated by one of the shells shown below!

Photos from the beach walk, and some interesting finds

I also went to a local spa yesterday for a massage and some time in the jacuzzi. The massage included some traditional techniques, such as pounding (!), which made me giggle. It was very relaxing and I actually decided to return for dinner, where once again I was the only person! A very cute cat joined me for some chicken. The spa and restaurant, like the resort I’m staying at, are very new ventures (all less than two years’ old) and they’re either partially or fully Fiji-owned. I get the sense that the owners have little idea of what western resorts are like, but that makes it all the more charming and authentic. It’s the total opposite of touristy and over-developed – at least in this area.

The only thing putting a dampener on Fiji so far is my health (or lack thereof). I’ve developed a chesty cough, which is quite sore. I also took my first anti-malarial, which I need for Vanuatu, a few days early by mistake and it gave me terrible heartburn that still hurts two days later! I’m not sure what I’m going to do when I need to start the course proper in a couple of days’ time; I have a few ideas, as malaria would obviously be worse! Possibly as a result of the above, or perhaps the overwhelming heat, I’ve been sleeping for England again – but I suppose it doesn’t really matter if I need it. Part of the reason for this trip is to rest and recuperate, after all.

With the above in mind, the two dives I did today were some of the sickest of my life, in both senses of the word! I really would not recommend diving while feeling like this, but with more than 50 dives under my belt, and a good recollection of how to cough, blow one’s nose and throw up underwater (!), the divemaster agreed that I could give it a go. The vital thing was that my ears were, and remain, totally clear. Once I was underwater, I felt fine and didn’t even need to cough once on either of the two dives. I can’t explain why today’s dives were two of the most physiologically comfortable I’ve ever done, but I will say that I was very tired afterwards.

We dived two sites very near the resort and just off the shore – Fanny Hill and The Edge (there’s also one called Bordello, which makes me think that whoever named them had a wicked sense of humour; the locals don’t get the joke and I’m not about to explain it!). On the first dive we saw several sharks, the largest of which was about 2m long, and green and hawksbill turtles. The second dive concentrated on smaller animals, such as colourful nudibranchs, and an amazing array of corals. We also did a partial swim-through of a cave, which was awesome, and there are apparently other caves to visit when I dive again in a couple of days’ time. Once again, it was only me on the dive trip today, which was pretty much perfect.

Various corals

I’ll write more about Fiji soon, as there’s tons more I want to write about this exotic, beautiful place when I have a bit more energy. I’m off to a water park and zip wire tomorrow, and very much hoping I feel well enough to make the most of it.